Abigail Finn

Archaea are a frontier in microbiology, their placement on life’s phylogenetic tree makes the archaeal domain exemplary to study in the context of eukaryogenesis. Our lab focuses on the hyperthermophilic archaeal genus Sulfolobus, which shares proximal ancestry to early Eukaryotes. Using a combination of genetic and live imaging techniques, my project aims to study factors of these organisms’ cell biology which may lead to a greater understanding of the contexts in which model Eukaryotic systems of cell division, genetic exchange, and ploidy management evolved.